I Count the Minutes
by Topsy
Summary: Doug disappears.......


Please title this page. (Page 1)

~~~o~~~ 

July 24th-29th, 01. 

~~~o~~~ 

This is set when Ricky Abbott would have been on the show. But he is NOT in this fic. 

~~~o~~~ 

Doug and Carol were standing in the lounge at the hospital, arms around each other's waists, faces just inches apart. Doug leaned a bit and pressed a kiss to Carol's lips. 

"Mm, can't I come home with you?" She asked. He smiled. 

"I have no objections." He murmured and she smiled and kissed him again. 

"I only have an hour left...Maybe I could get sick." Carol said. Doug chuckled and released her, walking to his locker and getting his coat. 

"Carol, darling, it's only one hour." He said and slid his coat on. She slid her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his back. 

"Yeah, but I want to get my hands on you now." She said. He chuckled. 

"Carol, you know I want nothing more than that." He turned in his arms and kissed her forehead. "I'll wait up for you." He said. She grinned. 

"You better." She said and kissed him once more. 

"I love you." He murmured. 

"And I love you, Doug." He smiled and let go of her and walked out of the lounge, in a hurry to get home and prepare a romantic night for her. Carol smiled after him before heading out of the lounge and back to work, trying to ignore her impatience. 

~~~o~~~ 

Doug whistled as he stepped off the last step from the El. He had left his jeep at work for Carol. Doug smiled as he thought of her and the evening he had planned. Candles, roses, wine, sex. He nearly chuckled aloud to himself as the sight of the house came into view. His steps quickened but before he could get another thought in he felt a pain in the back of his skull and he fell to his knees. 

What the hell? He tried to turn his head but received another blow to his back. Pain swam over him and he struggled to stay alert. His vision grayed and he suddenly passed out, his body going limp. 

"Is he out?" Someone whispered. 

"Yeah, he's out." Doug was hoisted up and carried to a van, the people carrying him grunting against his weight. They placed him in the back of the van and the man slid in with him. "You drive, I'll tie him up." 

~~~o~~~ 

Carol parked the jeep and glanced up at the dark house. Her brows crunched in puzzlement and she shrugged before stepping out of the car. She made her way into the darkness. 

"Doug?" She called out. No answer. She flipped on the kitchen light and looked around, seeing nothing. She squinted into the living room and shrugged. He was probably waiting for her in the bedroom. She flipped off the light and made her way back to the bedroom and turned on the light, expecting Doug to come out of somewhere and whisk her off to bed to finish what they had started at work. Nothing. 

"Doug?" She said again and was met with silence. "What the hell?" Maybe he went to get something at the store or somewhere, Carol thought. She made her way to the living room and sat with a sigh, flipping on the TV. 

Within an hour, Carol was getting worried. Where the hell was he? She stood up and bundled herself into her jacket and shoes. She slipped gloves onto her hands and made her way out of the house. She headed to the El and walked up the steps and onto the main walk. She knocked briskly on the small window and watched as a black man turned his head and looked at her from inside. 

"Ma'am?" He asked, turning his attention to her. 

"Did the nine o'clock train come in on time?" She asked. 

"Yes, ma'am, it did." Carol sighed. 

"You haven't had any problems at all with the tracks tonight?" She asked. He shrugged. 

"No, we haven't. Is there a problem?" He asked. She smiled and shook her head. 

"No. Thank you." Carol said and headed back down the steps. She walked, her hands in her pockets and her eyes on the ground as she walked briskly towards the house. She saw something on the ground and didn't think twice about it. Suddenly she stopped. She turned back a few feet and bent down, picking up a piece of cloth. Doug's scarf. 

"Oh God.." She ran the scarf through her fingers and looked around in the darkness, squinting in hopes of finding something else, someone else. 

~~~o~~~ 

When Doug awoke in was tied to a chair, his hands behind his back and a gag in his mouth. He choked against the gag and moaned, blinking his eyes. He lifted his heavy head and looked around in the darkness of the room. 

"I see you're awake." He heard a voice. Doug made a muffled noise against the gag and squinted into the darkness. The outline of a tall, muscular man came into Doug's view. He couldn't make out features, just the outline. "You need some rest, Dr. Ross. We'll talk. In the morning." Then the shadow was gone. Doug groaned and lowered his head again, struggling against the restraints. Then he thought of Carol and his blood chilled. They didn't hurt her, they didn't want her, he thought frantically and prayed he was right. 

~~~o~~~ 

"Mark?" Carol ran into the ER. 

"Carol, what're you doing here?" Mark asked. 

"Is Doug here?" Carol asked, clutching the scarf to her chest. 

"No, Carol. Doug left before you. Is he not home?" Mark asked. Carol shook her head and swallowed, ordering herself to calm down. 

"He wasn't home when I got there. He took the El so I could take the jeep, so I went to the El to see if his train got delayed or messed up or something. The man there told me everything was fine. So I was walking back home and I found this." Carol held out Doug's brown scarf and watched Mark study it. 

"Well, where do you think he is?" Mark asked. 

"I don't know!" Carol cried. "He's not home and his scarf was lying between our house and the El. I'd say he never made it into the house. Everything was as it was this morning. He's not been home, I would have been able to tell. All of his stuff is there, everything except what he had on him." 

"Carol..." 

"Something happened to him, Mark. I don't know what, but something did." 

"Maybe you should report it to the police." 

"Mark, even I know they don't do anything unless the person has been gone for 24 hours. It's only been three." Carol said. Mark nodded and ran a hand over his chin. 

"You're right. The best thing you can do is go home, get some rest. See if he shows up. Maybe he'll come into work tomorrow. Then, if he doesn't, we'll call the police." Mark said. Carol sighed and lowered her brow to her hand which still held tightly to the scarf. Eventually she lifted her head. 

"Alright." She sighed. "Alright. I'll go home...Call me if you hear from him, Mark. Even if he doesn't want you to call me or something." Carol said. Mark nodded. 

"Okay. Call me if he shows." Mark said. Carol nodded. 

"I will." Carol stared at Mark for a few moments before she turned and walked slowly from the ER, the scarf clutched to her chest. Carol knew something had happened, she felt it in every cell in her body. She only hoped he was okay. 

~~~o~~~ 

Doug didn't sleep throughout the night, to wired up to close his eyes. He was scared for Carol and he was sore from the blows to his back. And where the hell was he? Doug's wrists were chaffed from trying to pull out of the restraints. He knew it was hopeless as they were secure and tight. 

He heard a noise and his head snapped up as he saw a woman walk into the room, followed by the bulky man. 

"He's awake." The woman said. 

"Yes, Colleen, he's awake." Colleen, Doug thought and stashed that away in his mental files. Doug stared at them, not making a noise, judging his competition. Doug would've been alright with the woman, she wasn't much bigger than Carol. But the man was a giant. At least 6'4" and 275 pounds, Doug knew he was no match for the man with the bulky arms. "Take off the tape." The man ordered, clearly the leader. 

"Yes, Bart." Doug filed that away. He groaned a little as the tape was ripped from his mouth. 

"What the fuck is going on?" Doug asked. 

"We do the talking." Bart said, pulling up a chair. He straddled it backwards and folded his arms over the back of the chair. Doug didn't reply, just stared him in the eye as Colleen fidgeted beside Bart. "You remember Marge Eckleberry?" Bart asked Doug. Doug shrugged. 

"Should I?" He asked. 

"Two weeks ago, cancer patient?" Doug searched through his mind, trying to come up with a face for the name. "She left AMA because she didn't have health insurance to pay for her cancer." Bart said. Doug nodded. He remembered now, Doug had been searching for a child, not an adult. 

"Yes, I remember her." 

"She's our mother." Oh. Uh-oh, Doug thought. 

"You ordered all those fucking tests just to tell her what she already knew." Bart said. 

"Hospital policy. We can't treat patients if we aren't for sure of what they are in the ER for." Doug said. 

"Yeah, well, she has cancer. And she can't pay for all your damn tests. She doesn't have insurance. And now she can't pay for the treatments you ordered." 

"She needs those treatments, or she'll die." Doug said. 

"We need money." Bart said. 

"Okay." Doug replied, eyeing the big man with a buzz cut and a squared jaw. 

"We want your money." 

"My money? Why?" Doug asked. 

"You made her take all those tests that she can't pay for." 

"I'm a pediatrician. I shouldn't have even been treating your mother that day. I ordered what tests she needed, not because I wanted to take her money!" Doug said. 

"Yeah, well, she's going to die like you said if she doesn't get treatments. You're going to pay for them." 

"No, I'm not." Doug argued. 

"Yes, you are." Bart said. 

"If I do, will you let me go?" Doug asked. 

"Yes." Bart replied. 

"How much?" Doug asked. 

"Fifty thousand." Bart said. Doug's jaw dropped. 

"I don't have fifty thousand. I don't even have fifteen thousand." Doug said. Between helping Carol with the house and paying his bills from medical school, he didn't have fifteen thousand in the bank. Or anywhere else for that matter. 

"Get it." 

"From where?" Doug asked. Bart slammed the chair across the room as he stood. He leaned over Doug, getting in his face. 

"I don't give a shit. We need the fucking money for my mother. You're going to get it for us." 

~~~o~~~ 

Carol awoke that morning after a restless few hours of sleep. She sat up in bed and groaned before rushing to the bathroom and falling to the floor. She puked into the toilet, then slumped against the wall, hands in her hair. She sat for a few moments and passed the nausea off for stress and worry over Doug before she pushed off the floor and looked at herself in the mirror. Puffy eyes with bags under them, pale cheeks, dry lips. 

"Ugh.." She groaned . Please let him be alright, she thought to herself and closed her eyes. 

~~~o~~~ 

Carol walked into work and pushed into the lounge. Mark was drinking a cup of coffee and standing at the window, looking out. He had been waiting for Carol, or Doug, to arrive. 

"Has he been here?" Carol asked immediately. Mark looked over at her. 

"No." He said. Carol's shoulders slumped a bit. "Did you sleep?" 

"Some." Carol murmured and swallowed before looking up at Mark again. "Something is horribly wrong, Mark. I can feel it. He's in some sort of danger or something." She paused. "He should have been home. We...we had plans and he wouldn't have left without saying something to me. Or he would have been home by now." Carol said. 

"I'm sure he's fine, Carol." She nodded. 

"I hope you're right." Carol said softly and bowed her head. 

~~~o~~~ 

Doug walked into the bank with Bart right behind him and Colleen beside the two of them. Bart had a gun pressed into Doug's back, cleverly hidden by Colleen's body and Bart's coat. The three of them walked in a bunch up to the service desk. 

A woman smiled up at them and smiled warmly. 

"Good afternoon. May I help you?" She asked. Doug smiled politely and nodded. 

"Yes, I'd like to withdraw the money from my savings account." 

"How much?" She asked. 

"All of it." He replied and watched her eyes widen a bit as she nodded and looked a bit more closely at the trio. Bart had his head bent, trying to hide his face but watching Doug's every move carefully. Colleen had turned to survey the room and had on sunglasses and a scarf to disguise a bit. The woman nodded her head and Doug smiled at her, hoping to reassure her into just getting the money. 

Under other circumstances Doug would have tried to create some sort of diversity so he could get away, but he was worried about Carol still. If he ran would they find Carol and hurt her? He couldn't risk it. 

~~~o~~~ 

Awhile later the woman smiled up at Doug and handed him the money. 

"Your total comes to thirteen thousand, four hundred and seventy-five dollars and sixteen cents." Doug nodded. 

"Thank you, ma'am." He took the money and the receipt and turned as he led Bart and Colleen out of the bank. Colleen sighed with relief when they made it outside. Doug smiled slightly at her. 

"Get in the Goddamn van." Bart ordered as he shoved Doug inside and got in with him. Colleen made her way to the driver's seat and got in. 

"Now, Colleen, I want you to drive through the little slot over there," He motioned with the gun, "and we'll get the money from his checking account out of the machine." Doug sighed silently and hoped to God someone would figure out where he was. 

~~~o~~~ 

Carol sat in her home on the couch, hands clasped together as she gazed at the police man across from her who held a notepad in his hand, along with a pencil. Mark sat beside her, a reassuring source of strength for Carol. 

"So, how long as Dr. Ross been missing?" 

"Twenty-four hours. We waited to come to the police because we know they just tell you that they won't do anything for that long." Carol said. The cop tilted his head a bit and thought over comment. 

"Yes, I suppose that is what we would have said." He smiled a bit. "When did you realize he was missing?" 

"Last night he left the hospital where we work to come home. I got off an hour after him and he said he would be awake when I got home." 

"Was he coming here right after his shift?" 

"He was supposed to, yes." Carol replied. "Anyway, when I got home no one was here. I waited for a half an hour, thinking maybe he went to the store or something. He didn't come home so I walked to the El station, which is how he got home and the man there said that all the trains had come in on time and that nothing had gone wrong. So I headed back to the house and on the way there I noticed something that I hadn't before." Carol motioned to the scarf on the coffee table. "Doug's scarf." 

"Are you sure that is Dr. Ross'?" The cop asked. Carol nodded. 

"Yes, there's a small stain on it from where he spilled coffee on it. It's just a small dot and it's a darker brown than the rest of the scarf." She replied. He nodded. 

"Okay, so what happened after you found the scarf?" 

"I went back home and it still wasn't here. So I got in our jeep and drove to the ER, where we work. I took the scarf in with me and asked Mark if he'd seen Doug. He said no and that he left an hour before I did. Then I told Mark I knew something was wrong because Doug was supposed to be there at home and he wasn't and I could tell he hadn't been home since he left that morning. All of his stuff was there except his jacket, shoes, and the clothes he was wearing then." 

"Are you positive nothing is taken? No money out of the bank or anything?" 

"Well.." Carol paused and glanced at Mark. "I don't know about the money. Doug and I have separate accounts and I don't get into his." She replied and swallowed nervously. 

"We'll look into that, ma'am." The cop closed his little book stood up. Carol looked at him expectantly. "If anything turns up, we will call you. If you think of anything else, get in contact, okay Ms. Hathaway?" She stood and nodded. 

"Yes. Thank you for coming." She said. He nodded. 

"No problem. Goodnight." He turned and let himself out. Carol watched him go before turning and looking back at Mark. 

"He thinks Doug just left." She said softly, looking down as the tears filled her eyes. 

"Carol.." Mark said. 

"They'll look into his bank records to see if any money has been taken, they'll let me know but that'll be the end of it. Missing men aren't top priority in Chicago." She said as the first tear dropped. Mark enveloped her in his arms and she buried her face in his shoulder, letting the tears fall. 

~~~o~~~ 

The next morning, Carol was standing at the admit desk when she heard someone say her name behind her. She turned around to see the cop from the night before standing at the desk. Her heart rate skipped and then started on high. 

"Yes?" 

"Can we talk somewhere," He looked around, "privately?" 

"The lounge is empty." Kerry said, who was standing a few feet away. Carol glanced at her before she nodded and came around the desk. The cop followed her into the lounge. 

"Is something wrong?" Carol asked once inside. 

"Like I told you last night, I said we would check into Dr. Ross' back accounts. Yesterday, before we talked to you, Dr. Ross' checking account and savings account were completely cleared out." Carol gasped just as Mark stepped into the lounge. She reached blindly for his hand and he took it, looking at the officer. 

"What's going on?" Mark asked. 

"He took all of his money out of the bank." Carol said, looking up at Mark, her eyes shining brightly with tears. Mark looked up at the officer who was watching the two of them. Carol turned back to the cop also. 

"What now?" She asked. 

"Ms. Hathaway," The cop sighed, "We have to put this down as a voluntary disappearance. It looks like Dr. Ross left and took only the money from his bank accounts." 

"No." A tear slid down Carol's cheek. "No, you're wrong. Doug wouldn't leave like that. He wouldn't." She whispered fiercely and turned to Mark. He touched her shoulders softly. 

"From the evidence we have gathered that's what we've come to conclude. I'm sorry, ma'am, but there's nothing else we can do." He said. Carol's head bent and Mark turned her to him and led her to the couch where she sat numbly. 

"Thank you, Officer." Mark's voice was hard as he glanced at the cop before turning back to Carol. The officer nodded slightly and turned, exiting the lounge and the hospital. 

"He didn't leave, Mark." Carol whispered. Mark nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

"I know he didn't, Carol, but there's nothing that can be done." He said. She sobbed a bit. 

"Mark..He's out there somewhere and he can't come home, he can't get ahold of any of else to tell us where he is." 

"I know, Carol, shh...It'll be okay." Mark said. Carol shook her head and turned her face into his shoulder where she began to sob. 

~~~o~~~ 

At two a.m. that night, or the next morning, Carol was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had already tried crying herself to sleep but that didn't work. She was worried sick about Doug and she couldn't sleep. 

As she lay there her mind began to wander and she realized that Doug might die or could be dead and she'd never get to live the rest of her life with him. She'd never get to marry him, she thought as she twirled her engagement ring around on her finger. She'd never get to have those much wanted babies with him. She'd never get to grow old with him or...She froze and quickly retraced her thoughts. A baby. When Doug left they had been trying for a baby and she had been following her period closely. Since Doug had disappeared, she had been preoccupied and had forgotten about conceiving. 

She quickly flipped through her mental calendar and realized she should have started her period two days ago. And she quickly remembered her bout of morning sickness that morning and her craving for grapes during a trauma. She bolted up in bed and threw the covers off of her. She rushed into the bathroom and turned on the light, squinting at the sudden brightness. She dropped to her knees and opened the cabinets before she rummaged around for that once un-needed pregnancy test. She stood, quickly tearing through the package. 

She read the directions quickly and then followed them before setting the test on the counter to wait. She was desperate and frantic, growing more nervous after each passing second. She wrung her hands and swallowed nervously. She finally stood, having waited the full three minutes. She closed her eyes briefly and let out a strangled 'please'. 

Finally Carol opened her eyes and stepped forward, looking at the small contraption on the counter. Blue. Carol stepped back, closing her eyes and groping for the toilet. The line was blue. She sat and wrapped her arms around herself, one hand resting on her stomach. She was pregnant. 

~~~o~~~ 

Early that morning, Doug was awakened by the sound of Bart and Colleen whispering fiercely outside the door of his 'prison'. He strained to hear but couldn't make out the words. He gave up and waited for them to enter the room. 

Finally Bart entered, followed by Colleen. She was holding a pen and notebook. 

"You're awake. Good." Bart said and pulled out two chairs and lined them up in front of Doug. "Which hand do you write with?" 

"What? Uh..My right." Doug replied, glancing at the notebook. Colleen opened it and sent him a sympathetic smile. Bart stood up and walked behind Doug, quickly untying Doug's right hand. 

"What do I have to do?" Doug asked. 

"Write a note." 

"To whom?" Doug asked. 

"The hospital where you work." 

"What?" Doug asked, looking at them. 

"I want them to pay the money." Doug took the offered pen and notebook from Colleen. 

"Alright then. What do I write?" Doug asked. 

"Wait. Is there someone you can write this letter to that you trust would give this letter to the main hospital head?" Bart asked. Doug quickly thought of Carol but knew he couldn't send it to her. He didn't want her involved. Mark. Mark would do it, without a doubt. 

"Yes. Mark Greene. He's an attending in the ER." 

"Good. Now, let's start. This is what you write." Doug laid the pen against the paper. "Mark this is Doug. I need you to get this letter to the head of the hospital and make sure they read it. I need fifty-thousand dollars entered into my personal checking account. In order for me to be released and sent home untouched you need to make sure this happens. They'll give the hospital forty-eight hours to get the money. On midnight of the twelfth this money has to be in my checking account or I will injured or worse. Now, sign it." Doug signed it, adding a small sentence of his own before his name. Bart snatched it out of his hands and read it quickly, making sure Doug wrote everything correctly. 

"Tell Carol I love her. Who the fuck is Carol?" Bart asked, looking up at Doug. A muscle in Doug's jaw twitched. "She's my fiancée." 

"You have a fiancée?" Colleen asked. Doug nodded. 

"Yes." 

"Colleen, shut your mouth." Bart said. Colleen closed her mouth tightly but her eyes were sympathetic as they looked into Doug's. Bart handed the notebook to Colleen as he walked behind Doug and tied his right hand back up, tightly. They quickly left the room and Doug looked down, around him and sighed. 

~~~o~~~ 

Later that afternoon Mark quickly read the note he had found in his mailbox. He ran back out to the parking lot and jumped into his van. 

~~~o~~~ 

Mark ran into the ER, calling out for Carol. 

"Where's Carol?" Mark asked Randi, slightly out of breath. 

"She's in Trauma One." Randi replied, looking at him with a weird look on her face. He took off in the direction just as Carol came out of the room, pushing a gurney toward the elevator with Peter, Carter, and other nurses. 

"Carol!" 

"Mark?" Carol stopped, noticing the look on his face and the paper in his hand. 

"Carol, I got this in the mail." Mark shoved the paper out at her and she shrugged off her plastic covering before snatching the paper. She read the first sentence and gasped, one hand covering her mouth as she quickly read the rest. Then she began to cry when she saw where Doug had written 'Tell Carol I love her.' above his signature. She held the note to her chest and looked up at Mark. 

"Someone has him." Mark said. Carol nodded. 

"We have to get it upstairs." She said finally, wiping her tears away. Doug was alive and okay. For now. 

"Let's go now." Mark said. Carol nodded and they began to walk to the elevator. 

~~~o~~~ 

Carol, Mark and the cops were gathered in Anspaugh's office. 

"So you say this was in your mailbox when you went home this afternoon?" The cop that had been on the case earlier asked. 

"Yes." Mark replied. 

"Can you verify this is Doug Ross' writing?" 

"It is." Anspaugh said even as Mark and Carol nodded. 

"We don't know if he really is being held hostage." 

"What?" Mark gaped. "It says so right there!" Mark said. 

"It could be a lie." 

"Doug wouldn't do that." Carol said fiercely. Anspaugh shook his head. 

"No, this is the truth. Doug Ross wouldn't do this. He's not that kind of person." Anspaugh said. 

"Well, we have approximately 30 hours to decide what to do." 

"Put the money in the bank, for God's sake! They'll kill him if you don't!" Carol said desperately. 

"You don't know that. They said they would injure him." Carol closed her eyes and pressed her hands to her stomach and sent up a silent prayer. 

"You could make an arrangement with the bank and have them put in fake money." Mark said. 

"We'll look into it. We're going to consider all our options." 

~~~o~~~ 

Later that night, Carol and Mark were in the lounge. 

"Carol, I don't think you should go home alone tonight. Why don't you stay at my place." 

"No, Mark. I'll just stay here. I need to work. It'll help keep my mind off of things." 

"Alright." Mark said, nodding slightly. He thought he himself might stay at work, waiting for things to go down. He rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. "We'll both stay." 

~~~o~~~ 

That night, Doug estimated it to be two in the morning, Doug was working frantically with the rope that was securing his hands. 

After he had written the note, Bart had given Colleen the note, but they had forgotten about the pen which had laid in Doug's lap. He had simply stared at it for awhile before thinking of a plan that may work. He had kept it hidden with his legs until darkness and the noise on the other side of the door had ceased. He had managed to put the pen between his knees. Then he had bent his head down as far as he could and lifted his knees until he had managed to put the pen into his mouth. 

And the surprising, lucky part of it all was that he had managed to crane is neck back as far as it would go and drop the pen from his mouth and into his hands. Barely. It had almost slipped between his fingers. But now he had it in his right hand and was working on loosening the rope with it. He had been working on it for nearly a half hour and felt it coming loose. 

~~~o~~~ 

Finally what seemed like hours later but was probably only twenty minutes, the rope around his hands loosened and with a bit of wriggling fell completely free. Doug stretched his aching arms and rubbing his wrists before bending down and quickly and efficiently undoing the rope around his ankles. He stood and walked a few feet to stretch and limber up. 

He took a deep breath and looked toward the door. He walked to it opened it silently and peeked out a tiny crack. All he saw was a dark and tiny hallway that led to a dark room on the other end. Doug opened the door without a creek and slid through the foot he had allowed himself. He closed the door behind him with a quick snitch of the latch and turned to face the hallway. He crept silently down it until he reached the end. He peeked around the corner and saw Colleen lying on a couch, facing him. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, evenly. A sure sign of sleep, Doug thought. Then he inched out a bit further and saw Bart sitting in a chair, snoring heavily. Doug watched them for a few more seconds before he crept towards the door, stepping lightly. He finally reached the door and carefully slid the chain down, watching over his shoulder for a sign of wakefulness. He gently lay the chain against the door and turned the lock on the handle. He twisted the knob and turned back, looking once more at the sleeping siblings. Finally he eased the door open and slid to the other side. He breathed silently and reached up, sliding the chain into place before closing the door. 

He turned and ran quietly and quickly down the steps. He ran down the hall of the apartment buildings and turned a corner to find the door open the world. He ran through it quietly and ran along the shadows, running fast. 

~~~o~~~ 

Carol was sitting at the admit desk, messing with some paperwork. Jerry was nearby playing a computer game in the nearly silent ER. Mark was off treating their only patient and nearly everyone else was sleeping in various rooms. 

At the sound of the ER doors bursting open, Carol looked up to find Doug racing into the ER. Her heart stopped and she looked directly into his eyes. They stared at each other for moments before he came quickly around the desk and gathered her into his arms where she began to weep loudly, clinging to him. 

"Oh God, oh Doug." 

"Shhh..I'm here." He buried his face into her hair and felt her body shake with sobs. He kissed her hair and pressed his face hard into it. 

"Doug?" Mark came up to the desk and looked at him as he lifted his head. He grinned widely. "You're alright, buddy!" Mark exclaimed. Doug managed a smile and nodded. 

"Yes, I am. We need to call the cops." Doug said. Carol lifted her head then and looked up at him. He touched her cheek with one hand and their lips met in a kiss of love and reassurance. Mark grinned but he picked up the phone to dial the number the officer from before had given them. 

~~~o~~~ 

Doug was sitting in the lounge, Carol on his side, waiting for the cops to come back. Mark was standing, drinking a cup of coffee, despite the fact that it was three in the morning. Carol hadn't left Doug's side since he had came to the ER. She had sat with him while he had told the police where he had been all this time so they could go hunt them down. 

Carol was snuggled under Doug's arm, her head on his shoulder and her hand in his. She had fallen into an exhausted sleep, unable to stay awake any longer. 

~~~o~~~ 

Finally, two hours later the police walked into the lounge, headed by the officer that had told Carol that Doug's case was hopeless at the beginning. 

Carol roused the minute the the cops walked into the room, as if she had felt their presence. She straightened and her hold on Doug's hand tightened. 

"We've caught them." Carol's breath wooshed out. 

"Alright. What's going to happen now?" Doug asked. 

"There will be a trial. They've been taken to the jail to be held overnight. The trial probably won't be for a few days." The officer said. Doug nodded. "We'll be in contact with you. You'll need to go to the trial." Carol glanced up at Doug who nodded once more. 

"Alright. I can do that." He said. 

"Good." The officer nodded and glanced at Carol. "Well, have a good night then." He said and he and the other, younger cop followed him out of the hospital. Doug smiled and leaned his forehead against Carol's. 

"Lets go home." He said. She smiled and pressed her curved lips to his. 

"Lets." She replied. 

~~~o~~~ 

"You need to get some sleep." Doug said as he walked into the house, a comforting arm around Carol's waist. She shook her head and turned to him. 

"No." She murmured. He chuckled. 

"I'm not going anywhere." He said. She smiled up at him. 

"I know. We need to talk." Carol said. 

"Alright. Why don't we go get ready for bed and you can tell me." Doug suggested. Carol nodded and smiled. 

"Alright." 

~~~o~~~ 

"So," Doug pulled the covers down on his side of the bed, "what do we have to talk about?" He asked. She smiled and slid under the sheets. He got in beside her and she curled against him. 

"Well, I was thinking last night and I had just finished crying." He smiled slightly and rubbed a hand over her cheek. "But I couldn't fall asleep. So, I was thinking that maybe you would die." Her voice quavered and he pressed a gentle kiss to her brow. "Because the cops didn't seem convinced that you were being held up." She sighed. "Anyway, so I was thinking that I'd never get to marry you, have your children, grow old with you." Doug lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles as she continued on. "And I realized something that I hadn't thought of since you had disappeared. So I jumped out of bed at two o' clock in the morning and ran to the bathroom." Carol paused and took a deep breath. "I used that pregnancy test we had, Doug." She watched his eyes widen in surprise. "I'm pregnant." She whispered. 

"Oh.." He murmured and smiled widely. "Wow." She giggled and he kissed her in a flurry of excitement. "This is great. I can't believe it." He chuckled and pressed his lips against hers again. "I'm going to be a daddy. We'll be parents!" He exclaimed. She laughed. 

"Yes, Doug, we will." He grinned widely before sliding down, pulling the covers with him. He pulled her shirt up and kissed her belly several times as she laughed and ran her hands over his hair. 

"I love you." He said to her belly and kissed it once more before pulling her shirt down and sliding up her body. "And Ms. Carol Hathaway, I love you." He said. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. 

"Doug?" 

"Hmm?" 

"May 15th." 

"What about it?" Doug asked. 

"Two years ago this May 15th we got back together." 

"Uh huh, I remember." He said. She smiled. 

"I'll be pregnant then." He chuckled. 

"Yes, you'll still be pregnant." 

"So, marry me on May 15th." She said. His jaw dropped and she laughed. "It'll give us four or five months to plan it and I won't be so large that I won't be able to move." 

"Let's do it!" He said and grinned. 

"Really?" She asked and her eyes misted a bit with tears. He nodded and kissed her sweetly. 

"Yes, darling, we'll get married on May 15th with our baby growing inside you. But...for now, tonight, I'm going to make love to you." He said. She grinned and pulled him closer. 

"Now?" 

"Yes." 

"Good." She replied and drew his mouth to hers. 

~~~o~~~ 


End file.
